Julia Ioffe • March 31, 2026

Trump’s Antifa Terror

Even as war rages across the Middle East, raising fears that Iran could activate sleeper cells in the U.S. and Europe, the Trump administration is quietly working to designate antifa as a top counterterrorism priority—despite the protestations of experts who say this is a pretext for targeting domestic dissent.

Abby Livingston • March 30, 2026

The Mysteries of Spanberger

Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s mansion on a positive wave of bipartisanship that only an ex-C.I.A. Democratic representative could muster in a purple state. Now, just two months into her term, she finds herself waging a redistricting war and gambling her political capital on flipping congressional seats.

John Heilemann • March 29, 2026

The Secret Iran Intel That Terrified Dems

Sen. Richard Blumenthal sits in classified briefings on the Iran war. But he says you don’t need a security clearance to see that Trump didn’t think this through—and that all signs point to a ground invasion.

Julia Ioffe • March 26, 2026

Trump’s Endless War Games

Donald Trump’s so-called “military operation” against Iran is rapidly beginning to mirror Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine misadventure—overconfident, poorly planned, and sliding toward a drawn-out quagmire.

Peter Hamby • March 24, 2026

The Democrats’ Trans Trap

Republicans are gleefully seizing on James Talarico’s “six sexes” comments while Trump warns darkly that Democrats want “transgender for everybody.” New polling suggests how the party can defuse the G.O.P.’s “they/them” playbook before it trips them up again in November.

Julia Ioffe • March 24, 2026

Putin’s Post-Iran Paranoia

The Russian president has curtailed his schedule, and Moscow has virtually no cell service. The official explanation is about Ukrainian drones, but Putin is clearly spooked by the attacks on his old ally.

Abby Livingston • March 23, 2026

AIPAC Aftershocks & Pritzker’s ’28 Coup

A tidal wave of outside spending is flooding Democratic races. But as last week’s contest in Illinois suggests, big-money influence has its limits, especially where AIPAC and the A.I. industry are concerned. And while JB Pritzker’s $6 million intervention in the Senate primary won him recognition, it earned him some new enemies, too.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • March 22, 2026

The Other Sam in the Valley

Rep. Sam Liccardo, whose tech mogul district includes Palo Alto and Atherton, believes Democrats should embrace A.I.—within reason. Between the White House’s tech right bromance and Congress’s comical tech illiteracy, is there space for the party to address the anxiety and opportunity of the platform shift before the world moves on without them?

Julia Ioffe • March 19, 2026

The Quiet Americans

Republican veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan used to be among the most vocal critics of new military adventures in the Middle East. Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, a veteran himself, wonders where they all went.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • March 18, 2026

Markwayne’s World

A combative, law-and-order Trump loyalist with a steep learning curve on policy, Markwayne Mullin has leveraged his relationship with the president to rise from Oklahoma backbencher to Kristi Noem’s likely successor as secretary of Homeland Security.

Peter Hamby • March 17, 2026

Weapons of Mass Deception

Trump’s war in Iran is unpopular with the public, but exclusive new polling, produced in partnership with Echelon Insights, reveals that Americans find some rationales more convincing than others—and that MAGA remains mostly behind Trump, even if almost nobody likes Pete Hegseth.

Abby Livingston • March 16, 2026

Children of the Cornyn

Senator John Cornyn is fighting for his life in the Texas Republican runoff against a deeply flawed opponent. He’s also a symbol of what ails his party in the Trump era—and a cautionary tale for why money can’t fix everything.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • March 15, 2026

Dire Straits

On Capitol Hill, Republicans are projecting a united front in support of Trump’s war. But many of them fear rising gas prices in Peoria, not to mention dwindling munitions. And a number of them are trying to walk a line between supporting Trump and declaring mission accomplished.

Julia Ioffe • March 12, 2026

Elbridge Over Troubled Waters

How Elbridge Colby, a longtime critic of military adventurism in the Middle East, contorted himself into a champion of Trump’s war in Iran—and became Congress’s new favorite whipping boy in the process.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • March 11, 2026

Katie Miller’s Solar Express

Renewable energy industry types are wondering why Stephen Miller’s wife seems to have developed a sudden interest in their field. Not that they’re complaining.